Before "Standard Time" there was "Solar Time" (the time based on the position of the sun) to maximize America's agrarian society's output (and compensate for the lack of electricity and lighting). "Standard Time" was created to regulate railroad schedules (at one time, the railroads juggled 300 local time zones). And, then, "Daylight Savings Time" was created to give Americans more daylight for after-work pursuits in the summer.

There are studies that the economy improves and utility costs decrease during Daylight Savings Time, even when considering extraneous factors. Tourism interests say that winter business wouldn't drop as precipitously if the sun didn't set so early. The only rational objection I've heard is from parents not wanting to send their kids to school in the pitch dark. But, of course, we know today that we shouldn't be forcing them awake that early anyway.

March 15, 2017

Ever notice that the people who argue the hardest and the are the most positive that they are right are often the most uninformed in the room? It's not your imagination.

There is a condition called the "Dunning-Kruger effect" that presents itself in a fascinating way: The less skilled, barely competent or ill-informed one is, the more confident one is that they are actually very good and extremely intelligent.

November 04, 2014

According to Psychology Today, intelligent people are more likely to be nocturnal than people with lower IQ scores. From being proactive to rebellious and open-minded to anti-establishmentarians, those of us that head to bed after midnight are apparently brighter than those that give up before Fallen does his monologue.

I know a bunch of people that I believe to be whip smart that crash early. Your thoughts on whether this study holds water?

July 11, 2013

My Dad is known to muse that calling someone an asshole is actually a compliment.

The asshole, he says, is the most important part of the body. Without it, we'd blow up.

True dat.

So, it is with a bit of bemusement that I share this article on VentureBeat that covers the efforts of an entrepreneur to develop a diaper that will tell parents when their stinky little bundle of joy needs to go to the hospital.

July 10, 2012

An unusual winter with virtually no major snow events here in Madison was cause for celebration for those that endure the colder months because summers and fall here are so freaking glorious. For outdoor winter recreation enthusiasts, not so much.

As one of the hottest and driest summers in Madison history stretches on, the waterparks in Wisconsin Dells are rejoycing while most residents grumble that the summer isn't nearly as glorious.

But imagine if you owned (or worked for) a company that made its money on snow removal in the winter and mowing in the summer. Yeah...disaster.

January 28, 2010

Just completed a fascinating book on how music has been an integral component of the evolution of Humankind, potentially advancing those most suited to survival to share information with other like creatures. While at times somewhat academic, Daniel Levitin's "The World in Six Songs" packs enough rock reality to keep any music aficionado attentive to the real gems he unearths.

But, it is the concept that those creatures that dwell in the shallow end of the intelligence and common sense pool are the ones that don't (and shouldn't) inevitably make it, has me considering the longevity of civilization. For, as the slower members of a species don't survive, it enables the fastest members to become even faster. Natural Selection makes a lot of sense.

By protecting our offspring in ways that our parents didn't and, thus, preventing natural selection to occur...are we to blame for a future in which we are weaker...not stronger?